Lock guard



Jan. 15, 1952 GANGg 2,582,424Y

LOCK GUARD Filed April 17, 1950 40m? E ,fl||

INVENTOR.

JOSEPH GANG! MEQ@ ,M

/L A TTOQNEN Patented Jan. l5, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in lock guards and more particularly to guards for spring latches or locks, sometimes called night latches for doors.

Each cf said night latches or locks comprises a lock proper carried by the door and a strike member or keeper attached to the corresponding door jamb. Said lock proper includes a springurged locking bolt with an inclined portion for engagement with said strike member or keeper as the door closes, to force the bolt back and then release it to engage said keeper. Such a latch or lock is ordinarily provided with bolt withdrawing means operable from the outside by a key and from the inside by a knob. Locks of this kind may be mounted at the inside of the door or in a mortice in the door, and the keepers may be modified correspondingly.

Such locks or latches have the disadvantage of being comparatively easy for unauthorized persons to unlock from the outside of the door. Withdrawal of the bolt from the keeper has often been effected by inserting a thin piece of metal, of Celluloid or of any other suitable material, between the locking edge of the door and the adjacent door jamb, and pressing the flexible member against the inclined end of the bolt. The bolt may be forced back and the door unlocked. Persons in general might find this operation diflicult but many thieves have become so skillful that they perform such acts easily.

An important object of the invention is to provide novel and advantageous means to guard the lock so as to prevent unlocking thereof from the outside of the door without the use of a key.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and advantageous lock guard which is of comparatively simple and inexpensive construction', but is durable and highly efficient in use and can readily be installed in a usual door jamb.

Other objects, features and advantages will appear upon consideration of the following detailed description and of the drawings in which:

Fig. l is a sectional view illustrating one embodiment of the invention in which the lock guard is mounted on the strike member;

Fig, 2 is a front view of the locking means of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the device of Fig. 2, taken along the line 3 3;

Fig. 4 is a section of the door jamb with the lock guard in its normal position while the door is open;

Fig. 5 is a view on a larger scale of the back of a fragment of the strike member carrying the lock guard;

Fig. 6 is a section taken along the line 'I-'I of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but showing the lock guard as separate from the strike member;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line Sl-9 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 9 is a View of the face plate of the second embodiment of the invention; and

1Fig. l0 is a View of a flat blank from which a part of the lock guard is formed.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1 illustrates one edge of a door I5 in closed position with its edge close to the adjacent face of a door jamb i6 with a flange or projectionvI l at its outer face serving as a stop to mark the outward or closing limit of movement of the door. Mounted on the inside of the door is a lock proper I8, such as a spring lock or latch sometimes known as a night latch. As illustrated said lock or latch I8 is of a well known type and comprises a bolt I9 urged or biased outwardly by suitable means, such as a compression spring (not shown). Said lock I8 may be secured to the door by screws I8a.

At its outer end, said bolt I9 is beveled to provide an inclined face 2li, which, as the door closes, engages the inclined outer edge 2I of a bolt-receiving strike member or keeper 22 and is cammed back to enable it to pass said edge and move outwardly into a chamber 23 'in a part of said strike member which rests on the inner face of the door jamb I6. At the rear of said chamber 23 there is a wall 24 which is bent around the adjacent corner of the jamb and by the use of screw 25 the keeper is held iirmly in position at this point. When the door I5 iste be opened, from inside the door, said bolt is drawn by turning a usual handle 25 at the rear of the lock I8, and when the door is to be opened from the outside a key is inserted in a part 28 of the lock at the 'outside surface of the door and turned in the proper direction. When the bolt is retracted it may be secured in such position by shifting a button 29 in one direction as in the usual lock of this kind. Shifting the button" 29 in the opposite direction will release the bolt.

As is customary the strike member or keeper 22 has a flat part or plate 30 extending across and countersunk in the face of the jamb I6. This plate Sil is also secured to the jamb I 6 by two screws 3I in a well known manner. As here shown the plate 30 extends farther across the jamb than is usually the case, and substantially to the ange Il of the jamb' l5. The reason for this is to enable a lock guard to be carried by said plate 30 and both the keeper and lock guard installed in one operation.

Near the flange il', the plate 30 is provided with a rectangular opening 32 back of which is a recess 33 in the door jamb I6. In this opening is a guiding device 34, formed from a blank Sea or flat metal (Fig: in the shape of a pointed arch which is pressed outwardly through said opening by means of a spring 35 wound around a pin 3% which is pressed against the inner edges of said device 34, the ends of said spring 35 being held in ears 3i projecting rearwardly from said plate 3G. The device 35i is kept from moving out of said opening by means of projections or lugs S6 engaging said plate B.

Secured to the inner side of the arched piece 3d is a plate with its inner edge resting against plateifl when the door is open. Said plate may be fastened to member E-:i in diierent but as here shown 6) tongues 49 are punched up from the material of member 3d and secured in openings in plate St.

At this point it be noted that lugs may be formed by forming notches ii in blank 340, from which 35 is forme-d and then bending said lugs outwardly to proiect beyond the of the blank end of the nished member -2-4.

In Figs. 7, 8 and 9, the lock guard is illustrated as having a face plate Sila separate from plate Sil of the keeper. Otherwise the lock guard. is the same as illustrated in Fig-s. l through 6.

The corner oi the door edge adjacent to the lock guard when the door is closed is preferabiy protected by an angle piece li? countersunk in the material of the door and held in position by one or more screws 43. This angle piece or protector 4'2 serves to prevent the corner or the door from being chipped away by implements which burglars may attempt to insert between the door and the jamb for the purpose of forcing back the bolt it to unlocking position.

The plate 39 may be said to have a oating support by means of member 35. The positions of the parts of the lock guard when the door is open are shown in Fig. fl. The member 35 is in its outward position determined by engagement of lugs 38 with the inner face of plate 3d. The plate 39 is inclined with an edge dil close to the plate 39 and the opposite edge i5 spaced away `from the plate, the edge ed being toward the keeper which cooperates with bolt I9.

As the door is closed, the protector i2 engages the plate 3Q and swings it back toward the plate 39. Simultaneously the member Sii is forced inwardly through the opening 32, against the action of the spring 35. When the parts of the lock guard are thus located, it would be impossible to insert a bolt retracting device without breakingthe lock guard, and that would be practically impossible. v

Suppose a thin strip of metal or Celluloid were worked around the edge of the door l5 and between the same and plate 30. Then it would ordinarily engage the edge of plate 39 and be blocked, the plate being supported by the opposite side of member 34 engaging the opposite side of opening 32. If the end of the strip got between the plate 3S and plate 36, it would be blocked by member' 34.

The, device of the present invention provides an inexpensive and effective lockL guard.

It should be understood that various changes can be made and that certain features may be used without others, without departing from the true scope and spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A lock guard comprising a supporting face plate having an opening, a blocking plate at the front of said face plate, and means for yieldably holding said blocking plate in inclined position in front of said face plate with one edge resting against the face plate, including a device attached to said blocking plate for swinging movement through said face plate and spring means at the rear of said face plate to hold said device in advanced position.

2,. A lock guard according to claim 1 wherein said opening in said face plate is rectangular, said device in a direction longitudinal of said blocking plate fits in said opening and there are cooperating parts of said face plate and device to prevent movement of said device cornpletely out of said opening.

3. A lock guard according to claim 2 wherein said spring means includes a spring-supported pin on which said device is balanced.

1.1.. A lock guard device comprising a face plate having a lock guard, said face plate having a rectangular transverse opening, a blocking plate over said opening, and means extending through said opening for yieldably holding said blocking plate in inclined position with an edge close to said face plate, comprising a member with an arched outer surface to one side of which said blocking plate is secured, means for limiting the outward movement of said member and spring means for urging said member outwardly.

5. A lock guard device according to claim 4 wherein said means for limiting the outward movement of said member consists of lugs projecting from said membei` in position to engage the rear face of said face plate.

6. A lock guard device according to claim 4, wherein said spring means comprises a pin to engage said member at opposite edges thereof, a spring coiled around said pin and having its ends extending to the ends of the face plate opening, and means at the ends of said opening for holding said ends of the spring.

7. A lock guard comprising a face plate with a rectangular opening therethrough and rearwardly projecting ears, a member in the form of a pointed arch projecting through said opening from the rear of the plate and having lugs at its corners to engage said face plate and limit the forward movement of said member, spring means at the rear of said face plate and connected to said ears urging said member to its forward position, and a blocking plate secured to said arch member at one side thereof.

JOSEPH GANGI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,193,653 Winn et al. Aug. 8, 1916 1,919,739 Minzenmayer July 25, 1933 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 396,660. Great Britain Aug. 10, 1935 

